Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s building control service. This is because the Council has provided a suitable remedy for Mrs X and it is unlikely we could achieve anything more.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mrs X, complains the Council wrongly advised her about her building work. As a result she believed the work was completed to a satisfactory standard and she paid her builder. The Council now confirms the work has not been completed correctly and has declined to issue a completion certificate.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe:

• it is unlikely we would find fault, or
• the fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council, or
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants,
• the council has provided a suitable remedy.

(Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6), 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I reviewed Mrs X’s complaint and the Council’s response. I shared my draft decision with Mrs X and considered her comments.

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What I found

4. Mrs X instructed builders for work to her property in 2020. The builders served notice on the Council as Building Inspector but did not lodge a ‘full plans application’ setting out exactly what they proposed to do. The Council’s building control officer inspected the work on several occasions and advised Mrs X there was an outstanding issue but that once this was resolved they should be able to sign the work off as compliant with the Building Regulations.
5. Mrs X asked the builders to resolve the issue highlighted by the building control officer and then paid the builders. But Mrs X has become aware there are issues with the work and the builder has so far refused to revisit to put them right. She sought advice from other contractors and complained to the Council. The Council has inspected the work and confirmed there are issues; it has therefore declined to issue a completion certificate confirming the work complies with the Building Regulations. It has contacted the builder directly and asked them to carry out remedial works.
6. Building regulations set standards for the design and construction of buildings to ensure the health and safety of people in and about those buildings.
7. Caselaw has established that primary responsibility for building work rests with those who commission the work and those who carry it out. This is typically the homeowner and their builder. A local authority may visit to inspect the work but the courts have decided that it does not assume liability for substandard work.
8. The Council has agreed to refund its building control fee and this provides a suitable remedy for Mrs X. Any further injustice she may claim results from the work carried out by the builder rather than directly from the Council’s actions and in accordance with Paragraph 7 we cannot hold the Council responsible for this. It is therefore unlikely we could achieve anything more for Mrs X.

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Final decision

9. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because the Council has provided a satisfactory remedy and it is unlikely we could achieve anything more for Mrs X.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman